Seattle SuperSonics Thread

[Deleted member 38182]

This was actually made in 2011 when someone in Seattle tried to start a grassroots movement to get the Maloofs to relocate there over Anaheim

 

[niketalker23]

[QUOTE url="/t/328986/welcome-back-supersonics/860_20#post_16975296"]
seattle fans showed up until they were already moving soooo....

Did you see the last few weeks of the season in 2011 when the Kings were all but gone? Hell did you see the last game? or the sit in we tried after the game? 

honestly no. sacremento gets no air time in seattle. but when i looked at espn kings were dead last in attendance.[/quote]

They are also dead last in payroll and have been for years. You can't expect a full house when the owners don't invest in the product they're trying to sell to you.

 

[niketalker23]

SACRAMENTO — Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson swears he still has a shot to save his hometown team.

Johnson, the native son and former NBA point guard who has spent recent years trying to keep the Maloof family that owns the team from taking it elsewhere, told USA TODAY Sports on Friday night that Seattle hasn't won this game just yet. Asked if his window had closed in light of a Wednesday report that the Maloofs and the Chris Hansen-Steve Ballmer group were finalizing a deal to bring the NBA back to Seattle and more reports on Friday that the deal was done in principle for $525 million, Johnson spread his hands wide and smiled. The window, he swears, remains open.

"(NBA Commissioner David Stern) knows that I'm going to make a request to speak to the governing board (before any Seattle deal is formalized)," Johnson said, noting that the deadline to file for relocation is March 1.

NBA A-Z: Sacramento turns out to support Kings

Stern said Thursday night that potential buyers who might keep the team in Sacramento deserve a shot, even naming billionaire supermarket mogul Ron Burkle as one candidate.

"This will be decided by a committee of owners and the NBA's board of governors with the advice of me but not leading the way," Stern said on Thursday night.

As was the case when he made an impassioned and ultimately successful pitch at a board of governor's meeting in New York to keep the team from going to Anaheim, Calif., in April of 2011, Johnson — who had an agreement in principle with the Maloofs and the NBA for a new arena last February before they backed out — is confident Stern will give him the time necessary to organize his effort.

While the prospect of engaging in a bidding war with someone with someone like Ballmer (reported net worth $17 billion) is daunting, Johnson has spent recent weeks rounding up local and outside investors who he is confident could come with a competitive offer. Because a Sacramento-based offer would not include a relocation fee and the new owners could assume the $77 million loan that the Maloofs owe the city, he said the target figure for an offer that is comparable to the $500-525 million in Seattle is $425 to $450 million.

"I think from my standpoint, we're thinking about $450 (million) — $425 to $450 (million)," he said. "There's a lot of due diligence that has to take place on both sides. But everybody we're talking to, who has some interest, they know the number is going to be pretty darn high. It's going to be over $400 (million) for sure. The good thing is that there's not a shortage of people who are interested."

A person with knowledge of the deal said the formal Sacramento offer would have to involve a viable arena plan in order to be considered by the NBA. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the talks are ongoing.

The identities of some of the involved parties have become more clear. As first reported by CBSSports.com, Mark Mastrov, the founder of Northern California-based 24-Hour Fitness, is considered a major player on the local front. Burkle is also part of this picture. Johnson, who spent recent weeks ramping up his effort to organize a response to this sort of situation, is in the process of managing all the money men.

"Some of the big dollars may not be from Sacramento, but we knew we'd have a local presence as well," he said. "I think we have an opportunity to do that. We know what the number is, and we know what's at stake, and there's no shortage of interest."

UGLY LOSS: Cousins flagrant hands Mavs win vs. Kings

Johnson didn't indicate a timeline for presenting the formal offer from his group.

"What we need to do is to take a step back, get our process together, get organized and get a game plan that makes sense," he said. "We don't all want to be bumping into each other. We don't want to be bidding against each other. We need to have one Sacramento offer that makes really good sense and put ourselves in a position of strength.

"We're going to get one shot to really put our best foot forward and we want to be able to do that. The clock is ticking. We know the March 1 deadline is looming, and we're going to work our way backwards from there.

"I feel very strongly that we will be able to produce a group that has Sacramento ties that can be competitive or at least comparable. I believe the NBA knows that we're a proven market. ... I want Seattle to get a team. They deserve a team, but I don't want it to be our team."

USA Today Link

 

[Deleted member 38182]

[QUOTE url="/t/328986/welcome-back-supersonics/860_20#post_16975296"]
seattle fans showed up until they were already moving soooo....

Did you see the last few weeks of the season in 2011 when the Kings were all but gone? Hell did you see the last game? or the sit in we tried after the game? 

honestly no. sacremento gets no air time in seattle. but when i looked at espn kings were dead last in attendance.[/quote]Fair enough, but when you have owners who has been yanking our chain and screwing this fan base since 2006, WHILE putting out a god awful product and the leagues lowest payroll over the last few years... And that's recipe for terrible attendance numbers.

Give Sacramento and this fan base a team that has even a whiff of the playoffs and this town will be back in droves, believe that... And yes you may call it whatever you want to

 

[dmbrhs]

Did y'all have to even deal with that many Oklahoma City fans? I can't even really think of that many on NT

I can't recall OKC people saying anything (not saying there weren't any on here, just saying I don't remember). I feel like they didn't really start piping up until the team was good, then a couple got really insufferable. And they've always just relayed the same BS that Bennett fed them when it was all going down.

 

[Sinner]

^ Yeah, that was my impression too. Like I said before, it's probably not a fair representation of all their fans... it's bad enough that you got our team through questionable-means, but to have a smug and abusive-attitude about it?  Come on.

^
Be better than the Oklahoma fans my dude....

This.

Did y'all have to even deal with that many Oklahoma City fans? I can't even really think of that many on NT

No, I didn't really have to deal with that here on NT (thank goodness), but then again, I don't really visit ANY b-ball threads. 

My experience with "them" is just in the "comments" section of various articles, other forums and Tweets.  The worst was obviously during their finals-run. 

Which comes to my point in not wanting to treat any Sac fans the way we were treated by some of the OKC fans. It's an ugly situation for you guys and you're upset/disappointed/sad/bitter... I get it.  I don't hold any ill-will towards OKC fans (except the ones who just being ***** about it), as I understood it was the work of Bennett, Stern & co.  Trust me when I say I wish they could come up with a win-win situation for both cities. 

 

[Deleted member 38182]

SACRAMENTO — Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson swears he still has a shot to save his hometown team.

Johnson, the native son and former NBA point guard who has spent recent years trying to keep the Maloof family that owns the team from taking it elsewhere, told USA TODAY Sports on Friday night that Seattle hasn't won this game just yet. Asked if his window had closed in light of a Wednesday report that the Maloofs and the Chris Hansen-Steve Ballmer group were finalizing a deal to bring the NBA back to Seattle and more reports on Friday that the deal was done in principle for $525 million, Johnson spread his hands wide and smiled. The window, he swears, remains open.

"(NBA Commissioner David Stern) knows that I'm going to make a request to speak to the governing board (before any Seattle deal is formalized)," Johnson said, noting that the deadline to file for relocation is March 1.

NBA A-Z: Sacramento turns out to support Kings

Stern said Thursday night that potential buyers who might keep the team in Sacramento deserve a shot, even naming billionaire supermarket mogul Ron Burkle as one candidate.

"This will be decided by a committee of owners and the NBA's board of governors with the advice of me but not leading the way," Stern said on Thursday night.

As was the case when he made an impassioned and ultimately successful pitch at a board of governor's meeting in New York to keep the team from going to Anaheim, Calif., in April of 2011, Johnson — who had an agreement in principle with the Maloofs and the NBA for a new arena last February before they backed out — is confident Stern will give him the time necessary to organize his effort.

While the prospect of engaging in a bidding war with someone with someone like Ballmer (reported net worth $17 billion) is daunting, Johnson has spent recent weeks rounding up local and outside investors who he is confident could come with a competitive offer. Because a Sacramento-based offer would not include a relocation fee and the new owners could assume the $77 million loan that the Maloofs owe the city, he said the target figure for an offer that is comparable to the $500-525 million in Seattle is $425 to $450 million.

"I think from my standpoint, we're thinking about $450 (million) — $425 to $450 (million)," he said. "There's a lot of due diligence that has to take place on both sides. But everybody we're talking to, who has some interest, they know the number is going to be pretty darn high. It's going to be over $400 (million) for sure. The good thing is that there's not a shortage of people who are interested."

A person with knowledge of the deal said the formal Sacramento offer would have to involve a viable arena plan in order to be considered by the NBA. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the talks are ongoing.

The identities of some of the involved parties have become more clear. As first reported by CBSSports.com, Mark Mastrov, the founder of Northern California-based 24-Hour Fitness, is considered a major player on the local front. Burkle is also part of this picture. Johnson, who spent recent weeks ramping up his effort to organize a response to this sort of situation, is in the process of managing all the money men.

"Some of the big dollars may not be from Sacramento, but we knew we'd have a local presence as well," he said. "I think we have an opportunity to do that. We know what the number is, and we know what's at stake, and there's no shortage of interest."

UGLY LOSS: Cousins flagrant hands Mavs win vs. Kings

Johnson didn't indicate a timeline for presenting the formal offer from his group.

"What we need to do is to take a step back, get our process together, get organized and get a game plan that makes sense," he said. "We don't all want to be bumping into each other. We don't want to be bidding against each other. We need to have one Sacramento offer that makes really good sense and put ourselves in a position of strength.

"We're going to get one shot to really put our best foot forward and we want to be able to do that. The clock is ticking. We know the March 1 deadline is looming, and we're going to work our way backwards from there.

"I feel very strongly that we will be able to produce a group that has Sacramento ties that can be competitive or at least comparable. I believe the NBA knows that we're a proven market. ... I want Seattle to get a team. They deserve a team, but I don't want it to be our team."

USA Today Link

I love our mayor. Regardless of the outcome of all this, the fact that he cares this much is awesome.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

No, I didn't really have to deal with that here on NT (thank goodness), but then again, I don't really visit ANY b-ball threads. 

My experience with "them" is just in the "comments" section of various articles, other forums and Tweets.  The worst was obviously during their finals-run. 

Which comes to my point in not wanting to treat any Sac fans the way we were treated by some of the OKC fans. It's an ugly situation for you guys and you're upset/disappointed/sad/bitter... I get it.  I don't hold any ill-will towards OKC fans (except the ones who just being ***** about it), as I understood it was the work of Bennett, Stern & co.  Trust me when I say I wish they could come up with a win-win situation for both cities. 

I feel you, I've mentioned this before; but reading the comments section in the Seattle Times boils my blood sometimes. Throw in the Lakers fans that delight in Sacramento losing the Kings, and I'm ready to crack heads 

 

[dmbrhs]

^ Yeah, that was my impression too. Like I said before, it's probably not a fair representation of all their fans... it's bad enough that you got our team through questionable-means, but to have a smug and abusive-attitude about it?  Come on.


No, I didn't really have to deal with that here on NT (thank goodness), but then again, I don't really visit ANY b-ball threads. 

My experience with "them" is just in the "comments" section of various articles, other forums and Tweets.  The worst was obviously during their finals-run. 

Which comes to my point in not wanting to treat any Sac fans the way we were treated by some of the OKC fans. It's an ugly situation for you guys and you're upset/disappointed/sad/bitter... I get it.  I don't hold any ill-will towards OKC fans (except the ones who just being ***** about it), as I understood it was the work of Bennett, Stern & co.  Trust me when I say I wish they could come up with a win-win situation for both cities. 

The most annoying part is that the obnoxious OKC people, to this day, point to the attendance stats of the final season in Seattle. They will not let go of that as the crux of their argument. We all know attendance has nothing to do with these situations, whether it be Seattle or Sacramento.

And I agree on how to treat this situation. Yes, there will be some heated back-and-forths in this thread, but that's because both sides are passionate about the situation. I have zero ill will towards any Kings fans. Hell, rck2 is consistently one of the best contributors in the NBA threads here. They are digging in and supporting their franchise. The unfortunate reality is that the nature of the business could potentially screw someone. I just hold out hope that because Hansen's group has stated their intentions from the start, that it won't be as ugly as the OKC situation (if a sale goes through, and the team moves). It's all transparent, unlike the Sonics situation. But if it does go down, I'm not going to sit here two years from now and clown on Kings fans (or Sacramento citizens) for not doing enough (as if they have any control over the situation). I know who their fans are, and they deserve to be recognized. Something OKC's Johnny-Come-Latelys know little about.

 

[dmbrhs]

I feel you, I've mentioned this before; but reading the comments section in the Seattle Times boils my blood sometimes. Throw in the Lakers fans that delight in Sacramento losing the Kings, and I'm ready to crack heads 

For the love of Christ, please do not read the Seattle Times comments. That goes for any article, really. Reading those makes me want to hurt small children sometimes.

 

[100027]

A true Sonics fan shouldn't be gloating over Sacramento if you remember what we went through. I'm definitely sympathetic to you guys, but at the same time if we weren't here you'd likely be going to Vegas or Anaheim or somewhere ridiculous like Virginia Beach...

 

[lightweight champion]

I doubt Vegas would ever get a team. Va Beach never stood a chance. 90% public funding that the Maloofs wouldn't have to payback plus they keep all the revenue? No chance in hell. The relocation fees and territorial infringement fees would have been too costly to move to Anaheim. Sacramento is the best fit for the Kings.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

I still can't believe the Maloofs tricked VB into spending almost 2 mil in taxpayer money to play their sick game 

 

[dakid23]

well its their team you guys are trying to steal lol

i think they have some right to be in here

and no the kings did not have 3 years to buy the team. the maloofs did not want to sell, just move the team...

The Kings have their own thread. This thread is about BRINGING back the Sonics.

Carmichael Dave ‏@CarmichaelDave
Word is Gavin Maloof is emptying his house here.Gave a $2300 chandelier to his car wash guy. Giving other employees TVs, etc as thank yous.

Wow .

 

[Deleted member 38182]

About time y'all start paying attention to Carmichael Dave!

 

[651akathepaul]

Did I just hear that right? Kevin Johnson reached out to Lebron James to be part of an ownership group?

How the hell would that work? Must be a joke.

 

[dmbrhs]

Did I just hear that right? Kevin Johnson reached out to Lebron James to be part of an ownership group?

How the hell would that work? Must be a joke.

It's a joke. It was said at a Nike event (I think) in Sacramento when the two were on stage together. Active players can't be owners anyway.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

It was a fundraiser for KJs St Hope foundation.


Sorry for posting here

 

[651akathepaul]

It was a fundraiser for KJs St Hope foundation.


Sorry for posting here

I miss something on the last page or so?

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Kinda ya but I understand

 

[651akathepaul]

Well...I appreciate the insight you bring to the thread. Keeps things even keeled and honest.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Thanks man! I really try to keep it real and straight, but inevitably I am bias to sacramento

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Glad to see Seattle getting a BBall team back.....sad it had to come at another city's expense.

 

[651akathepaul]

Thanks man! I really try to keep it real and straight, but inevitably I am bias to sacramento

As others are to Seattle. I think this thread has been perfect as far as updates. Mainly because of your contribution along with dmbrhs (and others) has been much appreciated. Just a touchy subject all around, so I can see how things can get hostile, I suppose.

I'm not even a Sonic diehard, so even I don't really know the feeling of losing my favorite team to something like this. I just want to see my hometown team back since that's what I grew up with.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

If the Kings are 100% leaving I truly hope y'all get him. But that's not to say that I don't expect Sacramento to show up and put up a fight. And as a fan and resident I will do everything I can to keep them here. But trust me, if we lose this fight, I will be happy for y'all. No hard feelings at all.